On Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:23:51 +0000, (Stephen
Firth) wrote:

Das Rollende Hotel :

http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/image/71691822

Years ago I did a tour of the Sahara, and we encountered one of these
buses. We were touring in a series of Citroen CXs with some Peugeot 305s
and a couple of Land Rovers. One of the guides said that two years
before - that would be around 1976 I think - he had found one of these
buses with everyone aboard dead. They had gone to sleep in the "coffins"
provided and had (presumably) slept late into the day. The heat of the
sun had baked them in the beds.

If they looked an odd colour to a layman it could have been because of
CO poisoning. If they'd subsequently been exposed to the desert heat
the results wouldn't bear thinking about.

Most likely in the freezing cold night either the heating system was
faulty and working very hard, or somebody jury-rigged some heating
without ensuring adequate ventilation.

A couple on my son's course at uni were poisoned with CO by a faulty
gas heater, they were rescued just too late to recover. One died
within the day the other spent 4 days foaming at the mouth.

I have no idea why they did not wake,
although the contrast between the freezing temperatures of night and the
heat of the day may have been a factor.

H2S can have a similar effect, IIRC a family was gassed on the Swansea
to Cork ferrry when heavy seas swilled all the water out of the U bend
of their toilet and admitted H2S from the sewage holding tank to their
cabin. Seemingly you stop smelling it well before you succumb.

Looking at that picture of the dormitory van it seems to have only
windows for the sleeping capsules, but I bet it had toilets in there,
they sleep up to 40, that's a lot of "Jobby" after a week on the
trail, and the guides wouldn't want them wandering about the desert at
4-00am trying to get to the toilets in the tractor unit ....

Who knows ?

DG